Czech Prime Minister Proposes Bank Tax

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

16 February 2017

The ruling Czech Social Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka,
will introduce a special tax on the country's banks if it wins elections scheduled
for later this year.

The party confirmed recently that the bank tax will form part of its
election program and would be modeled closely on Austria's bank levy. The tax is intended
to prevent banks from shifting untaxed profits out of the country.

The party accused the country's banking sector of having shifted CZK460bn in
profits abroad over the last 14 years.

According to the SDP's announcement, the bank tax will be progressive, rising
with the level of a bank's assets.

The tax will start at 0.05 percent on assets up to CZK50m (USD1.96m), increasing to up to 0.4 percent on banks with assets of more than CZK300bn.

The tax would be paid in addition to corporate tax and is expected to raise
CZK11bn in revenue.

Elections to the Czech Republic's Chamber of Deputies are due to be held on
October 27, 2017.

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